German rail operator Deutsche Bahn experienced a nationwide halt in train services Tuesday night due to an IT disruption affecting its digital railway radio network. The company's trains were held at stations for over two-and-a-half hours before services began to gradually resume.
The disruption, which began around 10:30 PM local time (9:30 PM BST), was caused by a malfunction in the Global System for Mobile Communication for Railways (GSM-R), impacting internal communication channels. Deutsche Bahn's IT experts worked to resolve the issue, identifying the cause and implementing a fix.
During the standstill, passengers were advised to seek alternative transportation, with significant delays and cancellations anticipated. Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla stated that efforts were underway to move trains to stations to allow passengers to disembark. The company later confirmed the issue was resolved and thanked passengers for their patience.